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The Lich King
The Lich King is an entity created by Kil'jaeden the Deceiver from the spirit of the orcish shaman Ner'zhul. Initially trapped within the Frozen Throne, the Lich King eventually merged with the human Arthas Menethil, becoming the new Lich King, a fusion of the two beings. He is responsible for the creation of the Scourge and rules over them telepathically from his throne atop the Icecrown glacier. Birth of the Lich King When Ner'zhul left the dying world of Draenor, he was immediately captued by Kil'jaeden. The demon was eager to take revenge on the orc, who had renegged on the Blood Pact he had sworn years earlier. Ner'zhul's spirit was kept alive while his body was slowly torn apart. Entirely at Kil'jaeden's mercy, Ner'zhul agreed to serve the demon once more. His spirit was encased in the Frozen Throne, a mystical block of crystal. The orc that had been Ner'zhul ceased to exist, and the Lich King, a being of unfathomable power, was created. The Formation of the Scourge The Lich King was sent to Northrend, where he would begin the formation of the undead Scourge. Sent to watch over him were the nathrezim, led by Tichondrius. After easily enslaving the local indiginous life forms, the Lich King assaulted the kingdom of Azjol-Nerub. The 10-year conflict known as the War of the Spider ended with the Lich King's first major triumph. In order to further expand his power, the Lich King made contact with the human mage Kel'Thuzad. The former member of the Kirin Tor created the Cult of the Damned, which the Lich King was able to use to spread the plague of undeath across Lordaeron. The Scourge of Lordaeron After preparing for many long months, Kel'Thuzad and his Cult of the Damned finally struck the first blow by releasing the plague of undeath upon Lordaeron. Uther Lightbringer and his fellow paladins investigated the infected regions in the hope of finding a way to stop the plague. Despite their efforts, the plague continued to spread and threatened to tear the Alliance apart. As the ranks of the undead swept across Lordaeron, Terenas' only son, Prince Arthas, took up the fight against the Scourge. Arthas succeeded in killing Kel'Thuzad, but even so, the undead ranks swelled with every soldier that fell defending the land. Frustrated and stymied by the seemingly unstoppable enemy, Arthas took increasingly extreme steps to conquer them. Finally Arthas' comrades warned him that he was losing his hold on his humanity. Arthas' fear and resolve proved to be his ultimate undoing. He tracked the plague's source to Northrend, intending to end its threat forever. Instead, Prince Arthas eventually fell prey to the Lich King's tremendous power. Believing that it would save his people, Arthas took up the cursed runeblade, Frostmourne. Though the sword did grant him unfathomable power, it also stole his soul and transformed him into the greatest of the Lich King's death knights. With his soul cast aside and his sanity shattered, Arthas led the Scourge against his own kingdom. Ultimately, Arthas murdered his own father, King Terenas, and crushed Lordaeron under the Lich King's iron heel. With Arthas as his champion, Ner'zhul spread the Plague throughout Lordaeron and into Quel'Thalas, where he had the elves devestated, and regained Kel'Thuzad as an ally. Finally, Archimonde was summoned in Dalaran, and he immediately gave control of the Scourge to Tichondrius. But the Lich King was not done yet. Arthas and Kel'Thuzad disappeared. During the Legion's invasion of Ashenvale, Illidan Stormrage was released from his barrow prison after ten thousand years of captivity. Though he sought to appease his comrades, he soon reverted to true form and consumed the energies of a powerful warlock artifact known as the Skull of Gul'dan. By doing so, Illidan developed demonic features and vastly magnified power. He also gained some of Gul'dan's old memories - especially those of the Tomb of Sargeras, the island dungeon rumored to hold the remains of the Dark Titan, Sargeras. Bristling with power and free to roam the world once more, Illidan set out to find his own place in the great scheme of things. However, Kil'jaeden confronted Illidan and made him an offer he could not refuse. Kil'jaeden was angered by Archimonde's defeat at Mount Hyjal, but he had greater concerns than vengeance. Sensing that his creation, the Lich King, was growing too powerful to control, Kil'jaeden ordered Illidan to destroy Ner'zhul and put an end to the undead Scourge once and for all. In exchange, Illidan would receive untold power and a true place amongst the remaining lords of the Burning Legion. Illidan agreed and immediately set out to destroy the Frozen Throne, the icy crystal cask in which the Lich King's spirit resided. Illidan knew that he would need a mighty artifact to destroy the Frozen Throne. Using the knowledge he had gained from Gul'dan's memories, Illidan decided to seek out the Tomb of Sargeras and claim the Dark Titan's remains. He called in some old Highborne debts and lured the serpentine naga from their dark undersea lairs. Led by the cunning witch Lady Vashj the naga helped Illidan reach the Broken Isles, where Sargeras' Tomb was rumored to be located. With the powerful Eye of Sargeras in his possession, Illidan traveled to the former wizard-city of Dalaran. Strengthened by the city's ley power lines, Illidan used the Eye to cast a destructive spell against the Lich King's citadel of Icecrown in distant Northrend. Illidan's attack shattered the Lich King's defenses and ruptured the very roof of the world. At the final moment, Illidan's destructive spell was stopped when his brother Malfurion and the Priestess Tyrande arrived. Civil War in the Plaguelands Now that Ner'zhul had openly defied the will of the Legion, he knew that the wrath of Kil'jaeden and his demonic lackeys would be fierce, but, at the worst possible time, Ner'zhul was losing his magical power. When he had pushed Frostmourne from the Throne, he had caused a crack within the icy cask, and his power had begun to seep out like blood from an open wound. Likewise, Arthas was losing powers, and his hold over the undead was slipping. Ner'zhul knew that his time was short. Imprisoned within the Frozen Throne, he suspected that Kil'jaeden would send his agents to destroy him. The damage caused by Illidan's spell had ruptured the Frozen Throne; thus, the Lich King was losing his power daily. Desperate to save himself, he called his greatest mortal servant to his side: the death knight Prince Arthas. Though his powers were drained by the Lich King's weakness, Arthas had been involved in a civil war in Lordaeron. Half of the standing undead forces, led by the banshee Sylvanas Windrunner, staged a coup for control over the undead empire. Arthas, called by the Lich King, was forced to leave the Scourge in the hands of his lieutenant, Kel'Thuzad, as the war escalated throughout the Plaguelands. Ultimately, Sylvanas and her rebel undead (known as the Forsaken) claimed the ruined capital city of Lordaeron as their own. Constructing their own bastion beneath the wrecked city, the Forsaken vowed to defeat the Scourge and drive Kel'Thuzad and his minions from the land. Weakened, but determined to save his master, Arthas reached Northrend only to find Illidan's naga and blood elves waiting for him. He and his nerubian allies raced against Illidan's forces to reach the Icecrown Glacier and defend the Frozen Throne. The Lich King Triumphant After a short, but intense battle, Illidan inadvertently left himself open and Arthas took advantage of it, slicing open the demon hunter's chest with Frostmourne. Illidan collapsed in the snow, grievously wounded, as Arthas turned towards the open doors of Icecrown. Arthas entered the hollow glacier and beheld a winding pinnacle chained to the ice. As he strode up the stairs towards his destiny, the voices of those he had forsaken flooded through his mind. He heard Muradin Bronzebeard, Uther, and Jaina calling out to him, yet he ignored them, continuing his ascent. Finally, he reached the pinnacle and before him he saw an icy cask, within which was a suit of armour, arranged as if seated on a massive throne. Now only one voice spoke to him, the rasping whisper of Ner’zhul: Return the blade... complete the circle... release me from this prison! With a great cry of strength, Arthas brought the might of Frostmourne to bear against the Lich King's icy prison and with a haunting scream, the Frozen Throne exploded, and shards of the crystal scattered on the ground. With Ner’zhul’s thorny helm at his feet, Arthas leaned forward, gently picked it up and then placed the unimaginably powerful artifact on his head. "Now," Ner'zhul's voice echoed within his mind, "we are one!" In that moment, Ner'zhul and Arthas' spirits fused into a single mighty being, just as the Lich King had always planned. And thus Arthas then became one of the most powerful entities the world has ever known. And with that, the outer wall of Icecrown fell away, and only the single pinnacle remained, reaching up to Arthas, sitting silently upon the shattered throne, who stared out across his new kingdom, still as a statue, and waited . . . Current Activities Currently Arthas, the new and immortal Lich King, resides in Northrend; he is rumored to be rebuilding the citadel of Icecrown. His trusted lieutenant, Kel'Thuzad, commands the Scourge in the Plaguelands who often contest with the Forsaken undead commanded by Sylvanas Windrunner. Identity Crisis There has been heated debate in some areas of the Warcraft community as to what exactly happened when Arthas and Ner'zhul merged. Some are of the belief that Ner'zhul possessed Arthas, and that the former Prince ceased to exist - others, using a literal interpretation of "Now, we are one!" believe that the two ceased to exist as individuals and simply became one entity. There are also fans who have speculated about further plot twists involving the Lich King, such as Arthas fighting Ner'zhul within their mind, etc. When asked, "What's the truth about the new Lich King?", Chris Metzen (the creator and designer of the Warcraft universe) replied: "Arthas and Ner'zhul have become a perfect fusion of one being - Arthas' personality and body with Ner'zhul's wisdom, experience, power and EVIL." This would therefore appear to be the official explanation, though there are many who are quick to point out its perceived flaws. Lich King in the second expansion? Will not happen till when the lvl cap is at least 90 according to blizzard Sources *World of Warcraft Community Site: History of Warcraft *Blizzard Universe *Lunarfalls.com See also *Undead History, from the Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos manual *History of Warcraft, Chapters IV & V *Scourge *Prince Arthas *Ner'zhul Category:Lore Category:Game Characters Category:Lore Characters Lich King Category:Undead Category:Historical Necromancers